The balancing act between work and life! | Abhishek Singh | Director – HEG | Impetus Technologies India Pvt. Ltd

I often hear people talking about work life balance and I being a human resource professional get to hear this many more times than others. For many years, I have been focusing on this as an area to study. I spoke to many people about this, understanding how they see it, what does it mean to them and if they feel they have been able to strike that perfect balance?

Well there are all kind of views on how important it is, what kind of problems it creates or can potentially create, if one doesn’t strike a balance? In this article I will not focus on the problem it creates but would like to share how some people, who I have worked closely with, or have had long and multiple conversations with on this topic, have been able to manage it well.

I am writing this after practicing the learnings on myself and after getting convinced that it really works, at least it has been working well for me, for years.

Have you ever thought about things where you wish to spend most of your time and things that you always procrastinate and why? The answer may be simple but if you introspect it, the finding will have a profound impact on how you can manage work life better.

All of us would like to spend our time on things which we love and are passionate about , family is one of the most important of those , and in addition to family it is music for someone , travel for someone like me and some other people may have some other things that they love and are passionate about.

Let’s think of situation, where, the work we do is something that we equally love and are passionate about? Will spending hours on it be stressful or would you love it? Most likely you would love it and you will not bother much about how many hours you are spending on it and when? You will always look forward to finding more and more time to put on it and enjoy the whole experience of working and delivering. You will be proud of your achievements, learning, failures and what failure taught you.

At times we are stuck with what we feel will help us earn our living, and then we only do things to earn that, result is average and ordinary. If that is the case, you can only get to a certain level in that area and may not get to a level which you otherwise deserve to be at ,had you chosen to go for something that you really love. I do not need to tell you that one can be successful in any field , it’s better to be extraordinary in an area which may not be seen as high earning or sought after area and enjoy what you do , be the best in that area, as opposed to being a mediocre in an area where you do not have a calling!

So, the first step to great work life balance is being in the right job, going for your calling. Second and most important is finding the right organization to work with. An organization, which has high performance culture, great colleagues to work with, purpose and vision that inspires you, an environment that challenges your limits and keeps you on your toes but at the same time cares for you as a person, as a human, gives you flexibility to be you and express yourself to your fullest , empowers you to do things the way you want and understands your personal needs and values that equally important , you will be able to strike the right work life balance.

So, to summarise, I would say don’t choose your work based on what can pay you most but choose work where your heart lies, and you would love to give your best. Also don’t choose a company which can pay you the best but choose the company which gives you the work you want to do, an environment which empowers you to work in a way that you can express your love equally for family and work. If that balance is achieved, the hours and days you put on work doesn’t give you a feeling of missing work life balance.

Third and important one is taking pride in being part of the organization and express it. Enjoy the great things organization, at the same time own things/areas that requires transformation because in today’s fast changing and dynamic world, you will not find a perfect place, you must continuously create it together with your colleagues and company. Also, if you think who makes an organization a great organization, its people, its you and me. So why waste time and energy in talking about what’s not right and creating grapevine, why not own it and be a cause in transforming that area. Believe me it will give you great satisfaction and you will feel a lot happier and content.

I am blessed to have found that balance where I am empowered to express my love equally for my family and my work , I walk extra mile for the company without getting stressed or burdened and I experience company walking that extra mile for me when I have a personal need. That’s my definition of work life balance and I am loving what I am experiencing. I am a proud Impro(that is what we call everyone at #Impetus) and I love expressing it!